Supporting hanger for roller shades



July 22, 1930. c. w. SIMPSON SUPPORTING HANGER FOR ROLLER SHADES Filed Dec. 6, 1926 I Charles W Simpson Patented July 22, 1930 CHARLES w. SIMPSON, or LA FERIaTEx s SUPPORTING HANGER FOR ROLLER SHADES Application file d December The present invention relates to support- H ing hangers for window shades, andthe pri mary object of the invention is to vprovide an improved hanger for those types of window shade rollers which are devoid of the usual type of coil spring and ratchet arrangement employed for returning the shade to an elevated position. I

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved hanger for window shade rollers adapted for use with elevating and lowering means whereby the shade may be wound and unwound from its roller without necessarily grasping of the shade for either raising or lowering thereof. A further object of the invention resides in the provision of improved hangers for the roller adapted to so frictionally engage the roller as to maintain the shade infany de sired position.

a A still further object of the invention re sides inthe provision of a novel type ofhanger for the shade roller which is of such con struction as to require but one fastening e'le ment for the supporting of each end of the shade roller, and which fastening element aside from serving as an anchoring means for the hangers, also serves for varying the tension of the hangers upon the shade roller. A still further object of the invention re-' sides in the provision of improved hangers which maybe economically manufactured from single lengths of spring wire so shaped as to provide an eifective support andtensioning means for the opposite ends of the shade roller. V 5

Othenobjects and advantages of the invention will be'apparent duringthe course of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which drawing: 1 Figure-1 is a plan viewshowing the improved hangers for window shades'as applied to a window casing.

F igure ,Q-is an end elevationof the same and showingtlie manner in which the shade roller'is held in spaced'relationat theface of the window casing.

6, 1926. Serial no, 152,898.

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken sub stantially along the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 isa transversesection,online 1 4t of Figure l.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the tension hangersor brackets for the supporting of the shade roller.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and V wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A may designate a suit able window casing to which the improved window shade is shown attached, the improved window shade embodying a shade roller B towhich is attached the shade C, and D hangers or brackets for attachment to the casing A for rotatable mounting of the shade roller B; V p p 1 The shade roller B and which may be of any suitable length, is of cylindrical formation and may either be made of wood or metal of tubular formation, and this roller is of a length greater than the width of the shade C and projects past each side edge of the shade for providing bearing portions 10;

The shade C may of course be of any suitable material suchas fabric or the like, and be "secured to the roller B between the bearing portions 10in any preferred manner such as bymeans" of tacks or the like. l Referring nowto the special construction of the hangers D, the same are preferably formed of steel spring wire coiled at points to each side of the medial portion of the wire to form a pair of spaced contractible bearing portions 12 of circular formation and ar rangedin axial alignment one with the'other. The inner convolution of each ofthe contractible bearing loops 12terminate in "inwardly extending arms 13, which extend from an upwardly projecting -'tensioningloop 14 disposed midway between the bearingloops 12. Thistensioning loop is is formed midwaybetween the endsof the spring wire from whicli'the hangers are formed and is preferably contracted at its lower portion as illustratedin Figure5. As-will be observed in Figure 5, these contractiblebearing loops 12 areiormedofmorethanone complete convolution and which construction has been provided in order that the loop will have more resiliency, and will form a hearing to engage the entire circumferential face of the roller bearing portions 10.

The outermost convolution of each of the bearing loops 12, at the rear of the hanger, is coiled rearwardly in an opposite direction from that of the loops 12 to provide spacer loops or eyes 15 which are adapted to engage the face of the window casing A to support the loops 12 in spaced apart relation to the front face of the window casing. From one of the spacer loops 15, the wire extends upwardly and at its terminal portion is formed into a base loop 16 arranged in alignment with but spaced to the rear of the tensioning loop 1e. From the opposite spacer loop, the wire extends upwardly and inwardly as at 17 and has its terminal portion wound about the lower end of the base loop 16 as at 18, forming a closed eye 19. Thus it, will be seen that the tensioning loop 14 constitutes the medial portion of the strip of spring wire, while the eye 19 is formed by the joining of the terminal portions of the wire.

The hangers D, and two of which are employed for mounting of the shade roller B, are secured to the window casing A as by means of screws or the like 20 preferably provided with heads 21, and as will be observed. these secrews 20 are passed through the aligning loops 14 and 16 and threaded into the window casing until the heads 21 engage the outer or tensioning loops ll. B observing Figure 2, it will be seen that the spacer loops 15 of the hanger engage the face of the window casing below the screw 20 and thus positions the bearing loops 12 in spaced relation at the face of the window casing.

These hangers D are intended to be slipped over the ends of the shade roller B, and screws or the like 22 are threaded into the shade roller outwardly of the side edges of the shade to act as stops for limiting lateral shifting of the shade roller in the hangers when the hangers are secured to the'window casing.

As will be observed, the heads of the screws 22 engage the inner bearing loop of each hanger and thus form an effective stop for limiting lateral shifting of the shade roller.

A. raising and lowering means is provided for the shade C, in the form of pull cords, the cord 25 serving as an elevating means for the shade, and the cord 26 serving as a lowering means for the shade. These cords 25 and 26 may have rings 27 attached to their free ends to permit of an operator to readily grasp the cords for raising or lowering of the shade C. The elevating cord 25 has one end secured to the shade roller as by means of a suitable fastening element 28, and is wrapped in a suitablenumber of turns about one of the bearing portions 10 between the spaced bearing loops of one of the hangers D. The lowering cord 26 is secured at one end as by means of a fastening element 29 to the o Jposite bearing portion and is wound about tie bearing portion between the hearing loops of its hanger in the opposite direc tion from that in which the raising cord 25 is wrapped, and from which it will be seen that when a pull is exerted on one of the pull cords for rotating the shade roller in one direction, that the cord of the opposite oper ating means will be wound upon its respective bearing portion. When a pull is eXerted on the cord 25, the shade roller will be turned forwardly for wrapping the shade upon the roller, and when a pull is exerted on the cord 26 the shade roller will be rotated in the opposite direction for unwinding the shade from the roller.

The contractible bearing loops 12 aside from forming hanger bearings for the shade roller, also afford the desired gripping action upon the shade roller to retain the shade in any desired position upon releasing the pull on either the cord 25 or 26. Upon threading of the screws 20 into the window casing A, the head 21 is turned into ongagement with the tensioning loop 1st and it will be seen that any desired tension may be created upon the shade roller by tightening of the screw 20, and which tightening of the screw will serve to contract the bearing loops 12 about the roller bearing portions 10. This take up feature not only permits of the desired tension being formed for preventing too free rotation of the shade roller I but will also permit of the hangers to be used upon shade rollers of various diameters.

Vhile a pull cord has been provided for both raising and lowering of the shade D, if so desired the lowering pull cord 26 may be dispensed with and when desiring to do so, a person may lower the shade by means of a string secured to the wooden strip forming the lower edge of the curtain.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that a novel andimproved type of tension hanger means has been provided which frictionally engage the shade roller in a manner to retain the shade at any desired position without the necessity of providing the shade roller with a spring and ratchet arrangement for elevating of the shade and for retaining the shade in the desired position. It will'also be apparent that an improved and novel type of tension hanger has been provided which may be economically formed from spring wire, and which hangers are of such formation as to require but one fastening element for attachment-of the hangers to a window casing, and which fastening elements also serve for obtaining the desired friction to prevent too free rotation of the shade roller.

IS a

Changes in detail may be made to the specific form of the invention herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A supporting hanger for roller shades of the class described comprising a length of spring wire coiled at points to each side of its longitudinal center for forming a pair of spaced bearing loops, arms extending inwardly toward one another from the innermost convolution of each bearing loop and joined by an upwardly extending tensioning loop, rearwardly coiled spacer loops projecting rearwardly from the bearing loops at the outer convolution of each bearing loop, and a base loop connected with the spacer loops and aligning with said tensioning loop.

' 2. In a supporting hanger for roller shade rollers of the class described, alength of spring Wire formed to provide aligning spaced apart convolutions forming bearing loops, and having the medial and terminal portions of the wire formed to provide aligning spaced apart loops projecting above the bearing loops and having their axes extending at a right angle to the axes of the bearing loops for receiving a fastening element whereby the hanger may be pendently supported upon the face of a window casing.

3. A wire formed supporting hanger for roller shades embodying a pair of spaced yieldable bearing loops, an arm extended in- Ward from and above each bearing loop and connected midway the loop in an upstanding tensioning loop, a base loop held in spaced axial alignment with the tensioning loop, said base and tensioning loops to receive a fastening element therethrough for pendently supporting the hanger, and a spacer loop formed rearwardly of the bearing loops below the base loop for spacing the bearing loops from the surface upon which the hanger is mounted.

CHARLES W. SIMPSON. 

